PlanetCatfish.com

10g
Substrate: Flourite black sand capped w Tahitian Moon Sand
HOB Aqueon Filter w foam over intake
Flora: lots !!
var. stems Bacopa, Ludwigia repens, Myriophyllium Mattagrossense, Ludwigia "red", etc.
Lots of Crypts; wendtii, wendtii red, lucens, etc. mosses about 5 kinds, ferns. dwarf tiger lotus lily. Moss ball Collectoritis tank !

Fauna:
RCS about 50? Gave some away to club members.
CRS SS grade ? only 4 till I set up their own tank.
7 Celestial Pearl Danios
3 Threadfin Rainbows
2 Otos (plan to add more)
5 C habrosus
1 Scarlet Badis
Snails MTS just exploded so will trap out many.

I ripped out most of my Dwarf Chain Sword as under my lighting it was too tall for foreground. I'm reducing my stems and trying to keep an open area for the fish.

My habrosus are exploring the tank. The largest is very bold and they are sticking together much of the time. My Shrimp aren't sure what to make of them LOL.

Here are some bad phone pics of my fat Otos n Shrimps n habrosus.

All 5 habrosus were out tonight scooting around

Blurry phone pic of my TF Rainbows. They are the largest fish in the tank but my Corys seem to be out and about and unfazed by the other fish or Shrimp.

Crackin' tank!
ooops ah mean... great lookin tank!

wrasse wrote:Crackin' tank!
ooops ah mean... great lookin tank!

Thanks ! It's been evolving since I set it up about a year ago. I'm at capacity livestock wise and now just have to keep the stem plants under control. My habrosus are a great addition to this tank.

The gravel you use looks nice but is not suitable for Corydoras. It's too sharp and will gradually damage their barbels.
Fine and rounded sandgrains are much better.

Oops ! Double post ! Got an error message on Tapatalk so didn't think it went through :/

kruseman wrote:The gravel you use looks nice but is not suitable for Corydoras. It's too sharp and will gradually damage their barbels.
Fine and rounded sandgrains are much better.

I'm not using any gravel, the top layer is Tahitian Moon Sand from CaribSea. Very fine grained. Corys bury their noses in it readily. Also even though it is not as rounded as Corys prefer, it is VERY lightweight !
So they can push against it very easily

If this is not ok for them, what grade/exact type of sand is suitable ?

AFAIK dirty substrate is a main cause of barbel loss, due to fungus etc...
My last Cory (axelrodi) was kept on gravel for years without any barbel injury or loss. But I kept the tank clean. It wasn't ideal, but he was very healthy.

I'm willing to try a different substrate if needed. I may move them to attempt breeding later anyway.

Hi mate, lovely looking tank, I like your shrimp he adds a even more colour to your already vibrant tank.

Good job!

Matt30 wrote:Hi mate, lovely looking tank, I like your shrimp he adds a even more colour to your already vibrant tank.

Good job!

Thank You.
This started as a Shrimp only tank, but I ended up adding fish, so I'm currently cycling a 5.5g for my Crystal Red Shrimp.

If I end up with my other 5g free I may try to breed my habrosus

C. habrosus cuteness. All 5 are thriving. Going to do a PWC when I get home. Just 10% or so. What size/age will the wee Cories breed ??

Last night's feeding frenzy. The "snow" is frozen baby Brine Shrimp.
Cories n Otos diligently eating along with the Shrimp. My Otos will sample many foods now. They get plenty of green food, but the female loves to try other foods also.

New additions 3 C hastatus babies
Getting more soon. These were a birthday gift

I'm at capacity livestock wise and now

New additions 3 C hastatus babies

Looks like a change of opinion?

Richard B wrote:

I'm at capacity livestock wise and now

New additions 3 C hastatus babies

Looks like a change of opinion?

They are incredibly tiny. About the size of my Shrimp or less. And they will be moved once they get size on them. My tank is very heavily planted and I'm doing extra water changes to make sure my Corydoras are happy and healthy.

They were too small to put in my other tank. My Cherry Barbs might have eaten them. That was going to be their home.

I also have a 5.5 cycling and may put them in there when I move my Crystal Shrimp.

If I can swing it I want to set up a 20Long for my Cories

A few bad phone pics. Do I have two different species of Otocinclus ??
Their tail markings are quite different.

Me too! Waiting for the dollar a gallon sale at Petco! Going to sell my 20tall! Its all about the footprint for shrimp or cories.

It is a great looking set-up & with careful attention to water quality you specify i'm sure you'll be fine.

The sand does look a bit angular but i've not used it personally so cannot say how suitable it is. Having spoken with Hans-Georg Evers & people like Kim M, Ian Fuller etc the one thing they all say is that corys need sand which has a smooth/round grain.

Missing barbels/snout damage was thought to be bacterial infection due to dirt trapped in the substrate but current thinking is sharp/rough sand can certainly cause damage. Might be worth keeping an eye on your fish.

Richard B wrote:It is a great looking set-up & with careful attention to water quality you specify i'm sure you'll be fine.

The sand does look a bit angular but i've not used it personally so cannot say how suitable it is. Having spoken with Hans-Georg Evers & people like Kim M, Ian Fuller etc the one thing they all say is that corys need sand which has a smooth/round grain.

Missing barbels/snout damage was thought to be bacterial infection due to dirt trapped in the substrate but current thinking is sharp/rough sand can certainly cause damage. Might be worth keeping an eye on your fish.

Thanks Richard. I stare at my tanks daily, so I certainly will notice any barbel damage. My one habrosus came to me missing his barbels. No apparent infections and they appear to be regrowing.

I know the sand appears sharp, but it's very lightweight and they push it around easily. So far so good

I tested the tank again tonight and Ammonia was at zero.

Apparently the water changes have inspired my C. habrosus , I'm seeing breeding behavior. Lots of full body quivering and pressing up against. Saw an almost T position. No eggs yet that I see, but night is young !!!